Do We Need Education Consultants?

Advocates Question Spending On Education Consultants

By Gina Smith - The (Columbia State)

With nearly 3,000 teachers' jobs on the line, school-choice advocates are questioning why the State Department of Education is spending millions on consultants, some of whom are politically connected.

That includes more than $58,000 paid so far this fiscal year to Democratic consultant Zeke Stokes, who ran State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex's successful 2006 campaign, catapulting the only Democrat into statewide office.

Because of state budget cuts and the uncertainty of whether federal stimulus money will be used to back fill school districts' budgets next year, as many as 5,200 school positions — including 2,700 teaching positions — might be eliminated, according to a State Department of Education survey.

“The last thing we want to see is the front line of education — teachers — being cut,” said Randy Page, president of South Carolinians for Responsible Government, an organization critical of Rex that advocates tax credits for parents who home-school or send their children to private schools.

“In this economy, should contractors and consultants be that big of a part of the mix? Tough questions need to be asked on whether some of these contracts are something we really need,” Page said.

The State Department of Education said consultants save taxpayers' money. To date for this fiscal year, the department has spent $3.57 million on professional work contracted out.

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